Canada-U.S. border deal aims to strengthen North American perimeter while unblocking trade

Mark Kennedy and Sheldon Alberts, Postmedia News12.07.2011

U.S. President Barack Obama (R) and Prime Minister Stephen Harper =participate in a news conference in the South Court Auditorium, next to the White House December 7, 2011 in Washington, DC. The press conference came after a meeting between the two to discuss the countries' bilateral relationship, including economic competitiveness, security, and other global issues.Pete Marovich
/ Getty Images

The new Canada-U.S. border deal includes joint monitoring of 'threatening persons' seeking to enter North America.Les Bazso
/ PNG

WASHINGTON — Canada and the United States unveiled plans Wednesday for an unprecedented joint approach to border protection aimed at developing common practices to screen travellers and cargo, with both governments promising the measures will better guard against terrorism and speed up cross-border traffic.

The much-touted border-security deal, unveiled Wednesday at the White House by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and U.S. President Barack Obama, comes 10 months after both leaders launched negotiations to strike an accord.

The result of those talks is a two-part "action plan" that maps out efforts to harmonize regulations across a spectrum of trade goods while increasing the amount of information shared between the two countries about both legitimate and suspect travellers.

"These agreements create a new, modern order for a new century," Harper said at a joint news conference with Obama. "Together, they represent the most significant steps forward in Canada-U.S. co-operation since the North American Free Trade Agreement."

The reforms — many of them involving pilot projects that might not see full implementation for years — aim to integrate programs for Canada-U.S. perimeter security and to streamline the flow of goods between the two countries through pre-inspection and pre-clearance.

"Put simply, we're going to make it easier to conduct the trade and travel that creates jobs and we're going to make it harder for those who would do us harm and threaten our security," said Obama.

The success of the new strategy will hinge on the results of the pilot projects that are rolled out over the next two years, and the action plan also concedes that progress on many initiatives will depend on "the availability of funding."

Among the highlights of the new "Beyond the Border" plan:

- Enhanced tracking of travellers in both countries, and both nations will try to identify threatening people who seek to "enter the perimeter" of both countries so they can be stopped;

- An entry-exit system will be established in which both countries share information on when their citizens have crossed the border;

- Each country will obtain more information, including biometric data, from people in foreign nations seeking to come to the U.S. and to Canada;

- Each country will share more information about criminals in their countries who might be seeking to cross the border;

- Security officials, including armed police officers, will work as teams on either side of the border — with Canadian and American police officers venturing together into the territory of each nation;

- There will be joint screening of cargo coming from foreign countries to Canada and to the U.S., so that it is screened just once for both nations;

- Some companies in either Canada or the U.S. that ship goods across the border will be given "trusted" status so that the shipment is pre-screened at the factory instead of at the border;

- There will be more opportunities for Canadian travellers to obtain NEXUS cards to gain faster clearance at border crossings, and governments will commit more funds to open more lanes for quick clearance at air and land crossings.

The entire exercise, say Canadian officials, is meant to open the clogged border — a problem they say costs the Canadian economy $16 billion annually because of delays.

"I want to make a pitch: We want even more Canadians visiting the United States — and please spend more money here," Obama said.

The border security actions came in tandem with a separate action plan to create harmonized approaches to regulatory approval of products.

The two countries have identified 29 initiatives where Canada and the U.S. will "align" their regulatory approaches in four areas: agriculture and food; transportation; health and personal care products and chemical management; and the environment.

They said this will lead to lower costs for consumers and reduced barriers to trade, but won't compromise either country's health, safety or environmental protection standards.

As he stood next to Obama at the White House ceremony Wednesday, Harper declared the action plans to be a smart teaming of partners.

"Canada has no friends among America's enemies," said Harper. "What threatens the security and well-being of the U.S. threatens the security and well-being of Canada.

"Nevertheless, measures to deal with criminal and terrorist threats can thicken the border, hindering our efforts to create jobs and growth."

Harper said Canada and the U.S. are now taking "practical steps" to "reverse that direction."

Just as "threats" should be stopped at the joint Canada-U.S. perimeter, "trusted travellers" should cross the 49th parallel more quickly, Harper said.

"These priorities are complementary. The key that locks the door against terrorists also opens a wider gate to cross-border trade and travel."

Harper said the joint initiative on regulatory harmonization will be done to streamline standards "where it makes sense" but that "no loss of sovereignty is contemplated by either of our governments."

"Where no adequate reason exists for a rule or standard, and that standard hinders us from doing business on both sides of the border, that rule needs to be re-examined."

Obama also praised the action plan, saying it will help push forward his top priority — to create jobs.

"The prime minister and I are determined not only to sustain this trade but to grow it faster," said the president.

In a bid to prevent "inadmissible persons" before they breach the Canada-U.S. perimeter, the Harper government will screen visa-exempt foreign nationals for criminal behaviour through an Electronic Travel Authorization program.

It will use an Interactive Advance Passenger Information system to screen passengers on international flights to Canada, giving the government authority to tell airlines whether the person can board the plane.

Canada also will share information with the U.S. about foreign nationals who have been denied admission or a visa to enter the country.

White House officials applauded the Harper government for undertaking the new screening measures. One senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the measures will "allow us to be able to have understanding and confidence" that Canada can identify people who present potential threats.

Obama and Harper also touted plans to establish a comprehensive, co-ordinated system to track travellers as they enter and exit Canada and the U.S.

Beginning in 2012, Canada and the U.S. will begin to "systematically record and exchange the entry information of all persons" crossing at the land border between the two countries. Entrance into one country will serve as "record of exit from the other country," the action plan says.

Canada has committed to collecting exit information from airlines about travellers who leave Canada by plane, starting in June 2014. That information, however, "will not automatically be shared with the U.S., but will be used to enforce Canadian law," the plan says.

Canadian business leaders were quick to applaud the new accord, saying it will open the border for businesses, boost the economy and reduce the waiting time for cross-border travellers.

"Some days, governments get it right," said Perrin Beatty, president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. "And this is one of those days."

John Manley, president of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, said there have been "challenges" at the border over the last decade, and that Harper deserves credit for striking a deal that will provide "impetus" to solve the problem.

Manley said the challenge for Canada now will be to keep the pressure on the U.S. — where the border is less of a priority — to follow through with initiatives in the accord.

On Parliament Hill, opposition parties were critical.

NDP foreign affairs critic Helene Laverdiere said Canada made too many concessions and that national sovereignty is in peril.

"The major concession is we're sharing even more information with U.S. authorities, but what are we getting?"

Interim Liberal leader Bob Rae said he didn't view the accord as a major step forward, noting it is based on pilot projects.

"We really can't see the major breakthroughs that the prime minister is going to claim he won at the bargaining table," said Rae.

The NDP's trade critic, Brian Masse, was equally unimpressed. He said there are "more questions today" than answers on privacy issues.

"A lot of Canadians will be wondering if I'm going to take my son or my daughter or my family to Disney World, what type of biomedical information am I going to have to disclose or give up to the United States and how is that going to be used, where it's going to be processed and what the fate of it will be after a number of years?"

Council of Canadians chairwoman Maude Barlow said Canada gave up too much for what would essentially be negligible gains given that U.S. politics are responsible for the problems facing the border.

"Once again, we're bending over backwards to try to get something from the U.S. that we're not going to get," she said.

Ever since the perimeter security talks were announced earlier this year, they have been shrouded in secrecy and critics have complained of potential intrusions into the privacy rights of individual Canadians, as well of a loss of national sovereignty.

Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart released a statement saying she and her officials will conduct a complete review of the deal.

She said the action plan will take years to implement and noted with "encouragement" that both countries have committed to develop a joint statement of privacy principles by next May.

"Overall, we must note that the mere fact that the initiatives proposed will result in unprecedented information sharing requires vigilance from a privacy standpoint," said Stoddart.

Both governments, in their action plan, pledge to protect privacy and maintain national sovereignty.

"Our countries have a long history of sharing information responsibly and respecting our separate constitutional and legal frameworks that protect privacy," concludes the action plan.

mkennedy@postmedia.com

salberts@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/Mark_Kennedy_

Twitter.com/sheldonalberts

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Canada-U.S. border deal aims to strengthen North American perimeter while unblocking trade

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